Joan Brandwyn: It was my choice... not to go. He would have supported it.Katherine Watson: But you don't have to choose.Joan Brandwyn: No, I have to. I want a home; I want a family, that's not something I'll sacrifice.Katherine Watson: No-one's asking you to sacrifice that, Joan, I just want you to understand you can do both.Joan Brandwyn: Do you think I'll wake up one morning and regret not being a lawyer?Katherine Watson: Yes, I'm afraid that you will.Joan Brandwyn: Not as much as I regret not having a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I'm doing and it doesn't make me any less smart.
[Katherine looks down]Joan Brandwyn: This must seem terrible to you.Katherine Watson: I didn't say that.Joan Brandwyn: Sure you did. You always do. You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I wanted. This is what I want.Katherine Watson: [hugs Joan] Congratulations. Be happy.

Katherine Watson: [Looking over Joan's file] Pre-law? Well... have you decided which law school you're going to?Joan Brandwyn: Well, I haven't really thought much about it. After Wellesley, I plan on getting married.Katherine Watson: And then what?Joan Brandwyn: [confused] And then... I'll be married.

Dear Betty, I came to Wellesley because I wanted to make a difference. But to change for others is to lie to yourself. My teacher, Katherine Watson, lived by her own definition and would not compromise that, not even for Wellesley. I dedicate this, my last editorial, to an extraordinary woman, who lived by example and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes. By the time you read this, she'll be sailing to Europe, where I know she'll find new walls to break down, and new ideas to replace them with.

I've heard her called a quitter for leaving and aimless wanderer. But not all who wander are aimless, especially those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image. I'll never forget you.

[in her second editorial] Wellesley girls who are married have become quite adept at balancing their obligations. One hears such comments, as - I'm able to baste the chicken with one hand and outline the paper with the other. While our mothers were called to workforce for Lady Liberty. It is our duty- nay, obligation to reclaim our place in the home, bearing the children that will carry our traditions into the future. One must pause to consider why Miss Katherine Watson, instructor in the art history department has decided to declare war on the holy sacrament of marriage. Her subversive and political teachings encourage our Wellesley girls to reject the roles they were born to fill.

Betty Warren: She's smiling. Is she happy?Mrs. Warren: The important thing is not to tell anyone.Betty Warren: She looks happy. So, what does it matter?Mrs. Warren: Don't wash your dirty laundry in public.